hard-boiled
Americanadjective
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Cooking. (of an egg) boiled in the shell long enough for the yolk and white to solidify.
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Informal. tough; unsentimental.
a hard-boiled vice-squad detective.
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marked by a direct, clear-headed approach; realistic.
a hard-boiled appraisal of the foreign situation.
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(of detective fiction) written in a laconic, dispassionate, often ironic style for a realistic, unsentimental effect.
adjective
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(of an egg) boiled until the yolk and white are solid
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informal
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tough, realistic
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cynical
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hard-boiled
1715–25; 1895–80 hard-boiled for def. 2; hard + boiled
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Whether you like your eggs sunny-side up, hard boiled or scrambled, many hesitate to eat them amid concerns that eggs may raise cholesterol levels and be bad for heart health.
From Science Daily • Mar. 28, 2024
Egg salad, hard boiled eggs, deviled eggs, frittatas.
From Washington Times • Sep. 1, 2023
While some spreads feature everything from pizza rolls to hearty soups, others include little more than some strawberries and a hard boiled egg.
From National Geographic • Aug. 16, 2023
Heated debates held in the country's four national languages continued into early morning hours, with lawmakers fuelling themselves with raclette, hard boiled eggs left over from Easter and wine.
From Reuters • Apr. 12, 2023
Take out plank, surround the edge with mashed potatoes, decorate with hard boiled eggs and sprigs of parsley.
From Stevenson Memorial Cook Book by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
